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Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) causes an irregular heartbeat. There are various causes of AF. Medication can slow a fast heart rate and ease symptoms. Sometimes treatment can restore the heart rhythm back to normal. In addition, a medicine to prevent clots forming is usually advised to reduce the risk of having a stroke.

A normal heart rate should be between 60 and 100 beats a minute when you're resting, and is regular. The main difference between a normal rhythm and atrial fibrillation is that you are unable to predict when the next heart beat will come along, as heart rate is irregular.

This may lead to a number of problems, including dizziness and shortness of breath. You may also be aware of a fast and irregular heartbeat (palpitations) and feel very tired.

An anticoagulant is a medicine that stops blood from clotting. Warfarin is the main oral anticoagulant used in the UK. It is used in Atrial Fibrillation, but also for pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs) and deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in the veins of the legs).

Watch out for the Ageing Well in Torbay Fesitival - Saturday 20th October 2018, 10-6 @ Paignton Community & Sports Academy. Includes 1970's rock band and activities - and it's FREE!! Click here for more info

Posted at 15:33 on 26/09/2018

We are pleased to let you know that we are working closely with the Old Farm Surgery just down the road. For example, we have the same Practice Manager, Colin Whitford, and we are sharing a Paramedic (Ryan) who is helping with visits, as well as sharing some GP and Nurse resources and administrative support.

The NHS is constantly changing, and part of this are significant financial cuts, so we are doing this in order to ensure the long term sustainability of General Practice in this area.